Michelle Williams to Star in Damien Chazelle’s Next Prison Film

Fresh from her Golden Globe triumph for the series Dying for Sex, Michelle Williams appears poised to take on a new challenge. The five-time Oscar nominee is reportedly in talks to join the cast of Damien Chazelle’s forthcoming prison drama, a project that’s already attracting attention thanks to its high-profile ensemble and the director’s reputation for ambitious storytelling.

Williams, whose performances in Brokeback Mountain, Blue Valentine, My Week with Marilyn, Manchester by the Sea, and The Fabelmans have earned her critical acclaim, could be eyeing a sixth Academy Award nomination. With Chazelle at the helm, the odds may well be in her favour this time round.

Chazelle’s Next Move

According to

Deadline

, Williams is set to join a cast that already includes Cillian Murphy, an Oscar winner himself, and Daniel Craig. Details about the film’s storyline remain closely guarded, but it’s understood the action will unfold within the confines of a prison. Production is pencilled in for a late 2026 start, with Chazelle not only directing but also penning the script. Olivia Hamilton is on board as a producer alongside Chazelle.

Chazelle’s career has been marked by a string of notable successes and a few bumps along the way. He first made waves with Whiplash in 2014, which picked up a Best Picture nomination at the 87th Academy Awards. Two years later, La La Land became a cultural phenomenon, earning Chazelle the Best Director Oscar at just 32 – the youngest ever to claim the prize. His subsequent films, First Man and Babylon, met with mixed fortunes: the former was well received by critics but struggled at the box office, while the latter, despite high expectations, failed to find its audience.

Shifting Gears

It’s been four years since Chazelle last directed a feature. His initial plan for a follow-up to Babylon involved an Evel Knievel biopic starring Leonardo DiCaprio, but that project has stalled, and DiCaprio’s involvement is now uncertain. Instead, Chazelle has turned his attention to this prison drama, a move that coincides with the tenth anniversary of La La Land in 2026. The stakes, as ever, are rather high.

Given Chazelle’s track record, any new project from him is bound to generate awards chatter. He’s previously directed J.K. Simmons and Emma Stone to Oscar wins for their roles in Whiplash and La La Land respectively. With Williams’s history of near-misses at the Academy Awards, this collaboration could finally see her take home the coveted statuette.